


Come Home

by AlannaofRoses



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Forever Evil (Comics)
Genre: Brotherly Angst, Brothers, Gen, Spyral, delayed trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-09-24 06:18:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20353777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlannaofRoses/pseuds/AlannaofRoses
Summary: When Damian finds the stored footage from the Crime Syndicate's takeover, he discovers a secret he was never meant to know. Now he and his brothers must put all to rights and bring their lost eldest home.Set during Dick's time in Spyral after Bruce loses his memories.Update: this was originally a 2 chapter fic. It has exploded. Current plan is around 10 chapters. The new parts deal with Dick re-acclimatizing to life after Spyral. Warnings for some delayed trauma reactions.





	1. Discovery

Damian hadn’t been looking for it. 

He’d been looking through Father’s casefiles, trying to find a reference he needed for a current investigation. His rabbit trail of research led him to a subfolder hidden in an innocuously titled file that he probably would have completely overlooked under any other circumstances. Whether it was luck, or fate, or misfortune, Damian clicked on the video thumbnail.

His heart seized painfully when he registered the image. It was from Batman’s cowl camera, the slight shake to the footage betraying the Dark Knight’s movement. But it was the figure Batman, and thus Damian, were focused on that drove the breath from Damian’s chest. Grayson.

His brother, his mentor, his Batman hung suspended in something little better than a metal tube. Only his head was unrestrained, and Dick took advantage of that to turn towards the cowl. The light caught the dark bruising decorating his face, the blood gleaming from split skin. 

Damian checked the timestamp on the video, just to be sure. He couldn’t, shouldn’t watch this, but somehow he found himself unable to turn away as Father hurried to Grayson’s side, Batman desperately trying to reassure his eldest as Dick stared at him through weary, hopeless eyes. 

It was as if Dick already knew. Batman wouldn’t be able to save him this time. 

Damian barely even noticed as Tim and Jason entered to prepare for patrol. He vaguely registered them coming to a surprised halt as they saw the screen. He couldn’t look away now or he’d never have the courage again. If these were Dick’s last moments, Damian was going to watch them. 

On screen, Batman fell back in frustration, the bomb’s workings confounding him. Dick pleaded with him to leave, but Bruce had never been careful with his own life.

So Luthor made the decision for him. Damian felt bile rise in his throat as Luthor pushed past his Father, ordering Bizarro to restrain the Dark Knight. 

“I’m sorry, Grayson.” Luthor closed a hand over Dick’s mouth. 

Damian closed his eyes, feeling tears well up as Dick gasped, eyes wide and body jerking as whatever Luthor had given him began to take effect. The heart monitor went wild, betraying Dick’s panic in his final moments. The beeps came slower, irregular, then not at all. 

The monitor shrieked.

Batman roared in anguish.

Jason echoed him, sweeping a table of it’s contents and jerking Damian back into the present. Tim was practically folded in half, muffling sobs. Damian stared at Dick’s limp body on the footage, the heart monitor going silent, it’s job done. 

For a moment the only sounds in the cave were the cries of three heartbroken brothers. 

There was a sharp, horrible intake of breath. Three heads flew up, disbelieving. Wide-eyed, Damian searched the screen, where all motion had abruptly stopped.

Save for the rise and fall of Dick’s chest as beloved blue eyes flickered open.

“What the fuck.” Jason’s voice was tight.

“He’s dead, though. I thought…” Tim broke off.

On-screen, Batman detangled Dick from the now-dormant machine, and Dick fell into his arms gratefully. Their eldest brother was pale and shaken, but he was also alive. How was he alive?

“You found it, then.”

All three boys turned as one, only Jason completely managing not to look guilty at Alfred’s voice. 

“Good.”

Damian blinked. “You wanted us to watch it, Pennyworth?”

“I think,” began the butler, “this deception has gone on long enough. And with Master Bruce’s memories gone, your brother is alone. He should not be. The question is, what are you going to do about it now that you know?”

Jason gave him an almost feral grin. “Well, I think it’s time we bring Goldie home.”

Damian had never felt lighter.


	2. Retrieval

It had taken three long weeks, but they were here. And so was he.

“Dami?” Grayson stumbled back, his hand reaching out for the wall behind him, calloused fingers digging in for support. “You’re alive?”

“You’re alive.” Damian breathed. He’d seen the footage, but somehow, until this very moment, he hadn’t let himself truly believe it. He launched himself from the piece of rubble he’d been standing on, somersaulting his way to his brother. 

Grayson, blue eyes blown wide with shock and wonder, opened his arms instinctively, reaching out. The sound he made when Damian slammed into him, solid and breathing and here, broke Damian’s heart all over again. 

“Dami. Dami.” Dick was full on sobbing now, his arms banded around the youngest as he sank to his knees. Behind them, Tim was crying too, and although he’d never admit it Damian suspected Jason was close. 

Damian looked up as they came closer, Jason towing Tim with him. Tim didn’t need much urging, curling into Dick’s side as soon as he was close enough, Dick laughing wetly and loosing one of the arms holding Damian to pull his second youngest brother in. Jason hit his knees on the other side of the Robin pile, his own arms opening to encircle all three of them, one tight around Dick’s shoulders and the other cradling Damian and latching onto Tim. 

Dick leaned hard into Jason’s shoulder, still crying, yet smiling through the tears. Jason pressed his mouth into Dick’s head and met Damian’s gaze. Damian acknowledged him with a shaky smile of his own and snuggled closer to Grayson, for once not minding the close embrace of all his brothers wrapped together. 

“How?” Dick croaked, finally. “How are you…” His arms tightened suddenly and he changed his question. “Does Bruce know?”

Jason nearly snarled. “No.”

Dick misread his anger, flinching back. His eyes were wild with fear. “I’m sorry. Jay, I’m so sorry, please don’t leave. Don’t…” Hs breath caught, high and fast and close to shattering, but Damian heard the plea anyway.

“I’m not going anywhere Grayson.” He asserted sharply.

Jason blanched, reaching for Dick. “No, Dickie, no. We’re here, it’s okay.”

Dick clung to Tim and Damian with an iron grip, clearly panicking. 

Tim’s eyes were wide as he stroked Dick’s arm soothingly. “Dick, it’s okay. We know what happened, we saw everything.”

Jason snorted. “And what we didn’t see, Alfred told us. Turns out Bruce had a lot of secrets trapped in that head of his.”

“Had?” Dick croaked, clearly lost. 

“We’ll worry about that later, Dickiebird.” Jason soothed. “The important thing is that we know what happened, and we’re here to fix it.”

Damian picked up. “Father took advantage of you at your lowest. He manipulated you into agreeing to something you’d never do under normal circumstances. He pulled you from one horrible experience and then offered you a favor to pay him back, forcing you to accept or seem ungrateful. You felt you had no other choice.”

Tim rolled his eyes and squirmed until he could grab Dick by the shoulders. “What they, what we, are trying to say is that we understand. We don’t blame you. We forgive you.”

Dick stared at him, hardly breathing.

“Dickie.” Jason smiled softly. “Come home.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every time I think I'm done with a story I get more plot bunnies. I make no promises as to how much longer this will be. I write as long as the characters have something to say. Next chapter will switch to Jason's POV.

Damian sometimes wonders if not all of Dick came back.

On the one hand, none of them are truly alright. Bruce Wayne is living his carefree, memory-free, child-free, Bat-free life. It wasn’t like any of them really relied on him anymore, after his death they had all needed to learn to stand on their own, and had done so admirably. 

But as much as having a dead father hurt, having a living father who couldn’t remember who he was seemed so much worse. Knowing that Bruce could pass him on the street and never recognize him pained Damian in a way he’d never fully admit to. 

Not to anyone except Dick at least.

Except he couldn’t tell Dick, because then Dick would worry about him. And Dick had enough to worry about. 

Between the five of them- Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, and Alfred- they had managed to finish up Dick’s Spyral mission and extract Dick from the organization with minimal fuss. Since the moment they’d found Dick on that dusty foreign road, he’d hardly left Damian’s side. Sometimes Damian caught Dick staring at him when he thought Damian wasn’t paying attention, like Dick thought if he took his eyes off Damian for a second Damian would be dead all over again.

Or maybe it was his own death Dick relived every time he closed his eyes alone. 

Damian did. It had led him to Dick, had reunited him with his Batman, but sometimes Damian still regretted watching that tape. The frantic beating of the heart monitor as it galloped towards Dick’s final moments echoed in his dreams. The sound Dick had made as he was forcibly returned to life haunted his days. 

Perhaps it was a good thing Dick couldn’t bear to sleep alone. Damian wasn’t sure he could either. 

He didn’t even mind when the other boys joined in. Tim and Dick had had a long conversation that had ended in a dissolving of the barriers that had plagued them since Bruce’s death several years ago. Damian knew Tim had mourned Dick in the way one only did when you had left things unsaid, arguments unresolved. There was a weight lifted from Tim now, and he clung to his oldest brother almost as fiercely as Damian.

As for Jason, Alfred had pulled him aside and given him more footage that neither of them would let the younger two see. Jason had been furious at whatever it was, taking almost a full night of patrol to regain control of himself enough to return to them. Whatever he had seen, he had installed himself as Dick’s bodyguard, placing himself between his still-fragile older brother and anything that even looked like it might hurt him. 

Dick hadn’t complained once, and Damian had even caught him leaning into Jason’s protective stance once or twice, seeking comfort.

It scared Damian.

Dick, like all of them, had been fiercely independent. It came with the territory, Damian supposed. Teammates were all well and good, but you had to know how to take care of yourself. The vigilante life was often lonely, even with others around you. And Dick had taken it farther than most, choosing his own city, his own separate name and identity. 

Damian hadn’t seen Nightwing since Dick’s return. 

He wasn’t sure if he ever would again. 

He didn’t know how he felt about that.

Actually, none of them had been out much since Dick’s return. Babs and the girls had been taking care of Gotham for Batman already, and they hadn’t seemed to mind adding Robin and Red Robin’s routes. Jason still went out, Red Hood unwilling to let anyone else patrol his part of the city, but he’d cut back dramatically, and he only went out when Dick was awake. The first time Dick had awoken to find Jason gone he’d had a full blown panic attack, and Red Hood had dived through the window in record time to reassure Dick that he was alive.

Damian and Tim had looked at each other and decided then and there to stop patrols until Dick was less volatile. Heaven only knew what Dick would do if Damian was unavailable after a nightmare. 

In short, they were surviving. 

And then Bruce got his memories back.

“Damian?”

Damian froze, half in and half out of the front door of Dick’s apartment building. Tim, steps behind him, managed to gracefully save himself from tripping head over heels. Both boys stared.

Bruce watched them with a look that was half-fear, half-hope.

“You remember us?” Tim’s voice trembled ever so slightly. Damian reached a hand back silently and felt his older brother grip it tight.

“Yes,” Bruce replied, “I’m so sorry. My boys, I’m so sorry.”

Damian couldn’t find his voice.

“Can I…” Bruce started, “are the others, Dick…?”

Tim stiffened. Damian growled low in his throat. 

“He’s fine Father.”

“Is he here?” Bruce pressed.

Damain glanced up at Tim uncertainly. They weren’t entirely sure what had passed between Bruce and their eldest brother, but Dick still flinched whenever Bruce’s name was mentioned.

Tim worried his lip, glancing upwards towards the homey apartment they had just left. After a moment he met Damian’s eyes and shrugged helplessly. They couldn’t keep Bruce from seeing Dick, and if they sent him away now, he’d probably just find another way to talk to Dick when the rest of them weren’t around to intercede.

Plus, it was Jason’s turn to stay with Dick today, and Jason would have absolutely no compunction about kicking Bruce out on his ass if he upset Dick.

“Yes.” Tim responded, finally.

Bruce’s shoulders relaxed fractionally. 

Bruce stepped forwards towards them, clearly intending to go up whether they invited him or not. Tim turned and marched up the stairs without a word, presumably to warn their older brothers that Bruce was on his way. 

Damian followed at a slower pace, deliberately stalling Bruce enough to hopefully give Dick time to prepare to see him. 

He doubted it would be enough, even so.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright, two things for this chapter.
> 
> 1\. We are now in Jason's POV. Jason is always a lot of fun for me to write, but he can be a bit of an unreliable narrator. Remember that he tends to see things re: Bruce in the worst possible light. I promise this isn't a hate on Bruce fic. But I did want to explore the fact that there is a lot of hurt to get over before the boys can trust Bruce again, and Jason is pretty good at expressing anger. 
> 
> 2\. Dick may seem a little OOC. However, I was trying to portray Delayed Trauma. Basically, Dick has been in a terrible, lonely situation for months. He's been forced to rely on adrenaline and his own survival skills for a long time. He literally could not afford to break down while with Spyral. Now that he's in a safe environment again, with people who care about him, it's all crashing down at once. He will get more emotionally stable as the fic progresses and he heals.

It wasn’t like Jason and Bruce were on good terms. 

Jason may have more or less reconciled with the family, thanks to one very annoying and persistent Dick Grayson, but most of that had happened while Bruce was dead and buried- or so they thought.

Jason had tried. Bruce had too. They’d made progress, even if it sometimes felt like one step forward, two steps back.

And then Bruce had given them up. Willingly forgotten them. And Jason could have forgiven him for that, even with the collateral damage to Tim and Damian.

And then he’d seen the footage of Bruce and Dick after the Crime Syndicate.

There was no forgiving Bruce now.

Not after the way Dick had clung to them when they’d finally found them.

Not after the way his eyes had gone wild with fear when he’d seen Jason’s anger.

Not after the way Dick had cried against him that first night, Jason holding him tight against his chest, a buffer between his broken brother and the world that never seemed to give him a break.

Jason would never forget the hot, silent tears. The keening muffled against his shoulder so Dick wouldn’t wake the kids. The desperate fingers tangled in his shirt as if Dick were afraid Jason would disappear and leave him alone again. 

Jason didn’t care if Bruce never remembered them. 

Because Jason could never forget.

And then Bruce did.

Tim burst into the apartment, his hair mussed, eyes wide. Dick flinched sharply at the noise, and Jason tapped him lightly on the shoulder, a grounding touch. 

“Bruce is here.”

Dick’s flinch was full-bodied this time, almost sending him off his stool and into Jason. Jason grabbed him, steadying him, swallowed down green acid.

“Explain.” Jason snapped.

Tim looked at Dick, his face twisted. “He remembers. He came looking for us. He asked for Dick personally. He’s, he’s on his way up.”

This time Dick did vacate the stool, practically slamming himself against Jason, trembling like a leaf. 

For a moment they held each other up, Dick fighting terror, Jason struggling with the Pit. They won, after a moment, more or less. Dick took enough deep breaths to stop shaking, and Jason toned his rage down to a faint green haze. 

Tim was still talking, Jason realized vaguely. “…and we thought it would be better if he saw Dick now, with all of us here, then have the chance to get Dick alone sometime.”

Jason snarled. Yeah, that was not happening. He looked down at Dick as softly as he could manage. “Go to the bedroom.”

Dick blinked at him.

Jason pushed him, gently, and Dick went, a little dazed but willing. Tim moved to follow, but Jason halted him. “No, Timbo.” His voice was soft, but he met Tim’s eyes seriously. “I need you with me.”

Tim swallowed but nodded, taking a position near the kitchen, leaving Jason the living room floor. 

Footsteps thumped up the stairs. Bruce.

Jason took a deep breath.

Damian opened the door, his face pale and scrunched. 

Jason gritted his teeth. “Damian. Go to Dick.” He nodded in the direction of the bedroom. 

Damian glanced behind him uncertainly, and then crossed the floor on near-silent feet, slipping into the bedroom and shutting the door. 

Jason relaxed fractionally. 

The door swung open the rest of the way, and there he was. Bruce Wayne. 

His hair was longer, Jason noticed in a detached way. He was slimmer, obviously having skipped his Dark Knight mandated workouts. There were dark smudges under his eyes and the shadow of stubble around his mouth.

He looked small.

It was a lie.

Had it always been a lie?

“Jason.” Bruce sounded as surprised as Bruce had ever let himself be. The kids hadn’t told him then.

“Bruce.” Jason didn’t actually growl it, but it was a near thing.

“Where is Dick?” Bruce asked, searching the room as if Dick were hiding behind the couch, waiting to pop out. 

“No.”

Bruce’s eyes flashed dangerously. “What?”

Jason just watched him steadily, unintimidated. “I said no, old man. You don’t get to come in here out of the blue and expect things to go back to normal. Here’s how this is gonna go. You and I are gonna have a conversation. Timmy here will witness and hopefully keep us from killing each other. Then I am going to go talk to Dick and tell him what you say. Then, and only then, will I ask Dick if he wants to see you. And so help me, Bruce, if he says no I will throw you out myself.”

Bruce’s jaw tightened. Jason watched the muscle tick, tick, tick. His hand clenched near his empty thigh. 

Finally, Bruce nodded tightly. 

“Ok, Jason. Say your piece.”

“When did you remember?”

“Yesterday.”

Jason nodded. It was about what he’d expected. They hadn’t bothered to hide, with Bruce’s amnesia it hadn’t seemed to matter. Still, Bruce would have taken time to find their location, to confirm it, and to probably speak with Alfred and possibly Oracle to get news about what he had missed. “You got back everything?”

“I think so?” Bruce confirmed. “I answered to Alfred’s satisfaction, at least.”

Jason mentally thanked the butler for that. It meant Jason didn’t have to go over the basics again. “I suppose that’s why you’re so eager to see Dick?”

Bruce’s brow furrowed. He could tell Jason was getting at something, but not what. Not yet. “Dick was… on a mission. He went before I lost my memories, but when I did he hadn’t been extracted yet, and I wanted…”

“To see if he was a good little soldier?” Jason sneered. “To get the details of the mission you sent him on? To ask him how it is he’s here, when last you knew we were all mourning him?”

Bruce realized the trap and his eyes narrowed. “I wanted to see if he was okay.”

“He’s not.” 

Bruce flinched.

“First of all, he died. Then you sent him away from everything and everyone he knew and forced him so deep undercover it took us weeks to locate him. And then he spent months alone, working towards a nearly impossible goal, without any backup except you. And then you left him alone.”

“Jason…”

“YOU LEFT HIM!”

Tim took a step forward and Jason jerked back, his nostrils flaring as he sucked in air, fighting back the green flashing in his eyes. When he had it leashed again he looked up. Bruce hadn’t moved.

“You left him.” Jason’s voice cracked. “Willingly, in enemy territory, with no backup, no extraction plan, no one who even knew he was alive. If Alfred hadn’t intercepted that message Dick tried to get to you, he could have died again out there and we would never have known.” 

Bruce looked away. 

“How many times, Bruce? How many times are you going to put the mission in front of us? Me, Damian, Dick. How many times are you going to lose one of us before you understand?”

“Jason.”

Jason turned away, his chest tight. Tim watched him with worried eyes, but Jason wasn’t sure how to soothe the baby bird when he was barely restraining himself.

“Jason, I came to apologize to Dick.”

Tim’s eyes widened.

“To all of you.”

Jason turned around. 

Bruce looked from him to Tim, watching them both. “I’m sorry. I wish that the choice could have been different. I won’t apologize for saving the world, but I can be sorry for hurting the four of you.”

Jason knew it was the best they’d get. 

Tim was biting his lip, hard. It was time to end this.

“Wait here.” Jason told Bruce firmly. “I’ll let Dick know you’re here. It will be his decision whether he wants to see you.”

Bruce nodded.

Jason held out a hand for Tim, and let the younger boy proceed him as they walked to the bedroom.


	5. Chapter 5

Tim went straight into Dick’s arms. Jason closed the door behind them, leaning against it. He was pretty sure Bruce wouldn’t try anything, but then again, he’d been pretty sure Bruce wouldn’t lie to them about Dick being dead. 

Dick was sitting on the edge of the bed, his face bleach white, Damian curled into him like a puppy. Tim leaned his head against Dick’s shoulder, standing between his legs. Dick wrapped his arms around his younger brother, rocking him almost instinctively. His eyes were on Jason. 

“It’s him.” Jason confirmed.

Tim shuddered, and Dick’s eyes closed. Damian’s gaze went glassy. Jason’s instincts were at war for a moment, but in the end he decided his family needed his comfort more than his protection at this exact moment. He stepped forwards and gathered them up, grateful for a big enough wingspan that he could shelter them all at the same time. 

He didn’t cry, still too angry to process any other emotion. Damian hiccuped into his shoulder for a moment before regaining control. Tim wept into Dick’s neck, bracketed between his two older brothers. Dick only let a few tears fall, but Jason could tell he was overwhelmed. 

Jason suddenly wished Bruce would have stayed away longer. Dick had finally been getting better. He’d been handling longer and longer stretches without one of his brothers glued to his side. The nightmares had lessened in intensity, if not frequency. He’d smiled the other day, at something Damian had said. A real smile. 

This might put him back weeks. Months, if Bruce didn’t handle it correctly. 

“What does he want?” Damian asked, his voice small.

Jason sighed, his eyes on Dick. “He says he wants to apologize.”

“For what?” Dick’s voice was wrecked.

“For forgetting us.”

Dick looked away. “Oh. Not for…”

“He didn’t mention that particularly, no.” Jason growled, seeing green. 

“It’s okay, I mean…”

“No.” Jason put a hand on Dick’s arm, waiting until the older man met his gaze. “It’s not okay. I just figured, one problem at a time. But if you don’t want to see him, if you want that discussed first, it’s up to you. You’re in control here.”

Dick nodded. He was breathing deep and slow, and something in Jason’s chest twisted. Dick shouldn’t have to resort to meditation techniques to be able to face his own father. Bruce had royally screwed up this time, and Jason wasn’t going to let Dick suffer for it any further.

“Do you want me to tell him to go?”

Dick actually considered it for a moment. Jason saw the moment he dismissed the idea. “No, I don’t… I’d rather… I want you all here.”

Jason nodded. “Okay. Do you want us all in the room with you?”

Dick shook his head, but then stopped, looking at Damian. “Dami, do you want to see him?”

Damian bit his lip. Hesitated. “Not just yet, Grayson. It’s okay.”

Dick searched his face a moment. “Okay. In that case, just you Jay?”

Jason nodded.

Dick stood, untangling himself from the pile of younger brothers. Tim and Damian gravitated towards the space he’d vacated, ending up leaning against each other. Dick’s lip quirked watching them, and he reached out to grip them each by a shoulder, a half hug of support and love. They smiled bravely back.

Dick turned to Jason. “Okay.” His voice only trembled a little. “I’m ready.”

He wasn’t, but Jason also knew that look in his eye. Dick Grayson was no coward, and ready or not, he was going to meet this new challenge head on. It was infuriating. It made Jason’s chest ache with pride.

Jason opened the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Bruce stood as they entered, and Jason watched as he took in Dick’s appearance. A sort of grim satisfaction rose in Jason as Bruce paled. 

Dick looked pretty bad. He hadn’t been sleeping much or well, and he’d been eating less. He’d lost weight, his eyes were bruised and bloodshot. He was frighteningly pale. He trailed behind Jason like a shadow, curled in on himself, still and silent. 

When they stopped, Jason kept his body between Dick and Bruce, not enough to block them from seeing each other, but enough that if Bruce tried anything at all Jason could whisk Dick away in a second. He hoped the sight of his solid bulk, just shy of Bruce’s height and surpassing the older man in weight, would give Dick a sense of safety. 

“Dick.” Bruce breathed.

Dick tensed. 

“How… how are you?”

Jason almost groaned.

“I’m alright.” Dick murmured.

Jason rolled his eyes.

“I missed you, son.” Bruce tried.

“You forgot me.” There was no pain in Dick’s emotionless voice, but Jason flinched anyway. So did Bruce.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Why?”

“Why what, Dick?” Bruce asked, his brow furrowing.

“When you gave up your memories, did you even think about me? About how I’d be all alone?”

“I was saving the world, Dick.”

“Did you even think to tell anyone?”

“I…” Bruce couldn’t meet their eyes. Jason’s nails bit into his palms.

“Why Bruce?” Dick asked quietly. “Did you care for me so little? Or did you just decide my death couldn’t hurt you if you wouldn’t even remember I existed?”

Bruce flinched. 

Dick sniffed, looking at his feet. “I don’t hate you. Maybe I should but… I don’t think I could even if I wanted to. But I need some time, okay? Just… leave me alone for a while.”

“I understand, Dick.” Bruce replied. “I am… truly sorry that you suffered because of the choices I made. I do care about you.”

Dick wiped at his eyes. “I missed you Dad.” His voice broke.

Bruce sighed. “Dickie.”

He raised his hand.

He was going for a hug, Jason realized later. Just a hug. 

But it was too late.

“GET AWAY FROM HIM!” Jason roared, green flooding his senses.

Dick cried out, jerking back.

Jason leapt, his rage overpowering any sense or restraint. Bruce sidestepped, swinging out a leg.

Jason went down.

“STOP!”

The green faded slightly. Bruce’s face dropped. 

“Get out!” Dick shrieked again, his voice high and hysterical. 

Bruce stepped forward, reacting to Dick’s distress.

“GET OUT!” 

Bruce turned on his heel and left, the door slamming behind him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These chapters are a little short, so have some more. :)

The shouting pulled Tim out of his stupor, and he and Damian leapt to their feet as Jason’s voice rose in a furious roar.

“GET OUT!” Dick shrieked, and a door slammed.

Tim ripped the bedroom door open and charged into the living room. Dick was on the floor, bent over Jason protectively. Jason was snarling, his head in his hands, his eyes an acid green. 

“Dick!” Tim cried, panicked.

“It’s okay.” Dick’s voice was soothing. “It’s going to be okay.”

Jason shuddered, his eyes settling a few shades bluer. Damian pressed against Tim’s back, and for a moment, the four of them stood in a silent tableau. Finally, Jason sighed, and his eyes slipped closed. When they opened, they were back to their normal blue. 

“Fuck. Dick, I’m sorry.” Jason mumbled wretchedly.

“Jay…” Dick’s voice broke.

“I thought he was gonna hit you again.”

The world stopped. 

“Again?”

Jason and Dick looked up in horror. 

“Tim…” Dick started.

“What do you mean, again?” 

He didn’t want to know. But it made sense. The extra footage that only Jason had seen. Jason’s overprotectiveness, especially against physical threats, and Dick’s acceptance of that protection. Dick had three kinds of nightmares. The ones where he woke up screaming, reaching for Damian. The ones where he woke up sobbing, that Tim usually soothed. And then there were the ones where he woke up like a shot, jolting away from some threat in the night. Those were the nights when Jason gently but firmly sent Tim and Damian out before climbing back into the bed and holding Dick until morning. Add that to the way Dick flinched every time Bruce was even so much as mentioned, and Tim wondered how he hadn’t realized it sooner.

“What did Bruce do to you, Dick?”

“He wouldn’t.” Tim had forgotten Damian was even there. “Father would never, right Todd?” 

“Kiddo…” Dick breathed.

“He would.” Jason answered. “He did.”

Dick’s hand brushed his face unthinkingly, and Tim felt sick. 

“When you said he forced you to go undercover…”

Dick closed his eyes, realizing that denying it was futile. “Yeah. I didn’t want… I begged him to tell you. To let me say goodbye. He said…” His breath hitched, his hand reaching blindly for Jason.

“Bruce told Dick it was his own fault he’d been captured and unmasked. That this was payment. That he’d already told us Dick was dead, so it didn’t matter what Dick wanted now, he was committed.” Jason finished as Dick’s hand fisted into his shirt.

Tim pressed a hand to his mouth. “Why?”

Dick sighed. “It was his only chance to take down Spyral. It was a threat to us, to the League, to all vigilantes and costumed heroes and their secret identities. He knew this was his best chance.”

“That doesn’t make it right!” Damian burst out. His fists were clenched, anger riding high on his red cheeks. 

Dick shrugged, looking away.

Tim took a step forwards. “It doesn’t Dick.” He said firmly. “Regardless of his motivations, beating you into doing something you didn’t want to do isn’t right. Forcing you to lie wasn’t right. Sending you out alone wasn’t right. Leaving you alone wasn’t right.”

Dick sniffed, hard.

“What if it had been Damian?”

Dick’s head snapped around so fast his neck cracked. His eyes were wide with horror and fury. 

He froze.

His face crumpled.

Tim knelt in front of him, hugging him hard as Dick buried his head in Tim’s shoulder. “Just cause you’re the oldest doesn’t make it right. You’re not alone, Dick.”

Dick shattered.

Jason scooted closer, helping Tim support Dick as the acrobat sobbed out months of stress and loneliness and pain. Damian joined them, his face still conflicted. Tim would have to deal with Bruce’s tarnished reputation with Damian later. For now, he held his big brother.

And he resolved to never, ever, let Dick feel alone again.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one was a little slow, my sister's wedding is tomorrow...er today, haha it's after midnight. Anyway, it's a little longer this time, so I'm happy. Fingers crossed there will be two more chapters, one more for Tim and then one for Dick to finally get his say. :) Thanks for sticking with me on this ride!

Fraught as it was at the time, Bruce’s visit precipitated a change for the better in Dick. 

Having Tim and Damian know the full story had lifted a weight off their older brother’s shoulders. Now they knew what shadows he flinched from in the night, and as awful as it was for Tim to think that Bruce could have actually raised a hand against Dick, he was glad Dick had told them. It was the kind of knowledge that could have come back to bite them if they hadn’t known. 

With no more secrets between the four of them, they had managed to relax a little. Tim still hadn’t quite gotten over the wonderful feeling he had every time he woke to find all four of his brothers alive and well and eating breakfast in the kitchen. To have lost and regained all three of them from the clutches of death was a miracle Tim didn’t take lightly. 

And they were all healing, together. Jason was more stable than he’d been in years. Having found himself a post and purpose in protecting them, the Pit seemed to recede into the background. Damian was mellowing too, becoming more affectionate towards all of them. Dick was coming out of his shell, the lingering effects of his death and Spyral mission fading day by day. Tim sometimes felt as if he were the only one still suffering an open wound.

Bruce.

Tim understood why Alfred and Jason had hidden the full tapes from Damian, but Tim wasn’t a kid anymore. And he’d always been one to need solid proof. It was the detective in him. He needed to know. It was what had led him to realize Dick was Robin all those years ago. It had pushed him to find Bruce when he was lost in the time stream, not dead as everyone else believed. It was why, now, his brain couldn’t accept what Bruce had done without seeing it for himself.

Alfred would never agree. So Tim went to Jason.

“No way.”

“Jason…”

“No.” Jason closed his eyes, breathing through his nose. Tim felt a pang of regret for ruining his brother’s streak of Pit-free days. “Trust me, Timbo, that’s not something you wanna see.”

“I have to, Jason.”

“Why.”

“Because I need proof.”

Jason snarled. “You don’t believe Dick? After the way he came back to us? The way he flinches every time Bruce is so much as mentioned?”

Tim refused to back down, even if Jason was scaring him a little. He knew that doubting a victim was a sore spot for his older brother. “I need to see it to truly understand. I trust Dick, I do, but I’ve also trusted Bruce for years. I love them both, and right now it feels like picking sides. If I saw it, if I had an undeniable, unbiased record of what happened I could make it make sense in my head.”

Jason groaned, leaning his head back against the wall and rubbing his face with his hands. “trust me, Timbo. This isn’t something you want to see.”

“I have to.”

Jason took him to the Penthouse. The cave underneath looked as if Dick and Damian had just left, as if at any moment the new Batman and Robin would arrive back from patrol. Tim felt a pang of regret. He’d missed so much of that year, furious at Dick, chasing Bruce across time and space. If he’d been wrong? If Bruce had really been gone? What did that future look like for all of them? What would that have changed?

It was too late now, Tim supposed. They’d just have to go on living the life they’d been given. And Tim’s next step was to watch something he’d never thought he’d have to see.

Jason queued up the footage easily, as if the exact file location had been burned in his memory. He looked at Tim, his face set.

“I’ll wait outside. I can’t…”

Tim nodded. He waited until Jason’s footsteps had faded before starting the tape. 

It wasn’t as bad as he’d expected.

It was worse.

He only realized he was panicking when he felt a large, calloused hand push his head down between his knees. Jason’s thumb stroked the fine hairs at his nape while Tim stared at his shoes and tried to remember how to breathe. 

He gradually became more aware of his surroundings.

The tape was off. Jason was humming something soothing just loud enough for Tim to hear. 

When the tears came, Tim didn’t even try to stop them.

Jason said nothing, merely continuing the soothing humming and rubbing until Tim was finished.

“You were right.” He croaked finally.

Jason’s hand stilled. 

“I never wanted to see that. How could he?”

Jason didn’t reply for a long moment. “I always envied Dick.” He said finally. “He was the Golden Child, the first Robin. The standard by which I fell short.” He snorted, a mirthless sound. “When I came back, I was so angry at Bruce. For not avenging me. For not loving me as much as he loved Dick. But when I saw that tape… Dick was the one person I thought Bruce could never raise a hand against. Guess I was wrong.”

“What are you saying?”

“If Bruce can beat Dick half to death over the mission…”

“He wouldn’t.”

Jason looked at him. “Are you willing to take that chance? With Damian? Can Dick and I, with either of you? There has to be trust, between Batman and Robin, between parent and child. Sure, Dick is an adult, maybe Bruce really wouldn’t hit you or Damian. But then where is the line? Are you fair game when you turn eighteen? Am I next on the list when Bruce and I inevitably disagree on something again? And what about Dick?”

“He wouldn’t.” But there was no conviction in Tim’s voice this time. He stared up at the computer. The tape was paused, but he could still see a bit of blood in the corner of the frame. Dick’s blood. Blood that Bruce had drawn from his eldest brother. Jason was right. 

It left a sick feeling in Tim’s stomach.

Jason sighed. “C’mon kiddo. Dick’s ordering pizza for movie night, and we don’t want him and Damian to eat it all before we get there.”

Tim was quiet the whole way back, barely feeling the wind as Jason maneuvered the bike through traffic. The video kept replaying, quietly, in his mind. Tim knew he’d have nightmares for a long time.

He wasn’t quite sure he regretted it, though. He’d gotten his answers, even if he didn’t like them.

Jason was fumbling with the keys as they climbed the stairs, so Tim saw the wide open door first. 

Something inside the apartment shattered.


	9. Chapter 9

Tim and Jason leapt forward at the same time. Tim’s heart was in his throat as they scrambled for the open door. 

Bruce was standing in their living room. 

Dick was in the doorway of the kitchen, bleach white and frozen in place, a cereal bowl in pieces at his feet. Damian had reached the scene at almost the same time, and he locked eyes with Tim from the bedroom entrance.

“What are you doing here?!” Jason roared, and Tim jumped, having almost forgotten his older brother was behind him.

Bruce watched Dick impassively. “I just wanted to talk to Dick. Our last conversation was cut short.”

“You were watching us.” Jason said, his voice torn between incredulous and furious. “You waited until we were gone on purpose!”

“Jason.” Dick’s voice was a plea.

Jason moved instantly, shoulder checking Bruce as he strode into the apartment and straight to Dick, placing his broad shoulders between his eldest brother and their father. Dick relaxed as Jason reached him, leaning into him. Tim felt his anger rise at the sight. 

What right did Bruce have to force this confrontation? Tim no longer had to imagine what Dick saw everytime he thought of Bruce. He’d seen it, in horrific detail. He was seeing it now, the twisted sneer superimposing itself over Bruce’s face, bloody fists overlaying Bruce’s hands. Dick, hurting and alone, on the floor. 

“What is the meaning of this, Father?” Damian probably meant his voice to sound authoritative, but instead it was desperate, a child begging for assurance that his parent wasn’t in the wrong. 

Bruce looked around at all of them. Damian, biting his lip hard. Tim, who knew his face was ashen. Dick, who had recovered his composure but still used Jason as a shield. And Jason, glowering with betrayed anger. Bruce seemed to sag. 

“Boys.” He started, stopped helplessly. “Dick.” He couldn’t meet any of their eyes. “I needed to see you. Dick, I needed to make sure you were okay.”

“He’s not.” Jason snarled.

Dick put a hand on Jason’s arm, stilling him. “Bruce.”

Bruce looked up, hope in his eyes.

“I forgive you.”

Bruce stepped forward, but Dick put up a warning hand, his other gripping Jason’s wrist tightly to prevent violence.

“But I can’t forget what happened.” Dick’s voice cracked. “You hurt me. You took advantage of me. You left me alone. You forgot me. And I know you’ve tried to justify it. Me verses the world. And part of me understands that, yeah? I’d sacrifice myself to save others, of course I would. I have. It’s not what you did, Bruce. It’s how you did it. You could have asked. You could have trusted me. You could have trusted them.” Dick swept his arm out, encompassing all three brothers. 

“Secrecy was…” Bruce started.

“You took away my choices, Bruce. You beat me into submission.”

They all flinched. 

“You told them I was dead and made me play along. You didn’t even tell me Damian was alive.”

When had Damian started crying, Tim wondered. Their youngest was just standing there, still and silent, staring at the father he could no longer recognize. Tim had to swallow his own emotions at the sight. Dick may have forgiven Bruce, but it would take them all a long time to forget. 

“Dick…”

“Bruce.” Dick’s voice firmed. “I forgive you. We’ve all done stuff we aren’t proud of.” Tim could have sworn Jason looked briefly uncomfortable. “But I need time to be able to trust you again, okay? Let me come to you, when I’m ready.” He stepped around Jason, facing Bruce for the first time since that awful day.

“I’m here, Bruce. I’m alive, and I’m back, and I’m recovering. Don’t rush me. Give me space. I’ll come back.”

Bruce hesitated a moment, and Tim tensed, seeing Jason and Damian doing the same. Finally, he nodded. “Okay, Dick.”

Tim stepped out of the way as Bruce left. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed that Bruce didn’t acknowledge him. 

Dick was still trembling lightly in the center of the room. 

Jason stepped towards him. “You did good, Dick.” He soothed. “Too soft on him, as usual, but you made your point.”

Dick nodded, drawing calming breaths. His eyes found Damian and his face fell. “Dami.” He opened his arms.

Damian walked straight into them, Dick’s own panic fading rapidly in the face of Damian’s distress. 

“What’s wrong, kiddo?”

Damian sniffed. “What do we do now?”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y'all. It's done. This is the longest continual fic I have ever written and I am so proud of myself. Thank you to each and every one of you who read, gave kudos, and especially to those who commented. You kept me going. This is for you.

Dick looked at Jason, and his younger brother nodded. Dick scooped Damian up, marvelling again at how much the kid had grown. He moved them into the bedroom, curling Damian up on the pillows before joining him.

“Now we move on, kiddo.”

“How.” Damian rubbed at his eyes furiously. “I don’t…I can’t…He…but you…” Damian stopped, frustration evident on his face.

Dick smiled softly at him. “No one’s asking you to choose, Dami. You can still love your dad.”

“But he hurt you!”

“Yeah. Yeah, he did.” Dick would carry that for the rest of his life. The terror, the betrayal, the pain that went much deeper than the physical wounds Bruce had inflicted. “None of us are ignoring that, okay? Bruce is going to have to earn back our trust, and its not going to be an easy road.”

“You said you forgave him.” Damian searched his face anxiously. “How? Why?”

“You’ll get there kiddo. And I’ll be happy when you do, okay?” Dick cupped his little brother’s cheek. “Forgiveness has more to do with you than with the person who hurt you. Bitterness and hatred only serve to poison the one who holds onto them. And just because I’ve forgiven him, that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten what he did. I don’t want you patrolling alone with him for a while okay? The four of us will keep paired up anytime Bruce is around. He needs to realize that we refuse to let him pull anything like this again.”

Damian nodded at him tiredly, the emotion draining out of him. 

Dick gently manuevered him down to flat, tucking the soft throw over his youngest brother. “Sleep for a bit, Dami. It’ll be a bit easier when you wake up.”

Damian’s eyes fluttered shut.

Dick left the bedroom quietly and almost tripped over Tim, who jumped back guiltily.

“Tim?” Dick prompted quietly when the younger boy seemed frozen.

“I’m sorry, Dick, I needed to…”

“I know.”

Tim looked up at him in surprise. “What?”

“Jason told me.” Dick said patiently. “I was going to give you the choice eventually, you know. I knew you wouldn’t be kept out of the loop forever. I just…” He sighed helplessly. Tim was sometimes the hardest of his brothers to comfort. Tim led so strongly with his head that sometimes Dick wasn’t sure where he was coming from. “I didn’t want you to have to see Bruce like that.”

“Or you didn’t want me to see you like that.” Tim said quietly. When had he gotten so old, so wise? Dick missed the spunky, naive little Robin Tim had been once.

“That too.” Dick sighed.

“You know I still look up to you, right?” Tim asked.

Dick looked at him. “Yeah?”

“I know things were rough, with Damian and Bruce being gone and all, but I never stopped seeing you as my big brother. Not really. You’ve had to face so much stuff, and you always come through it stronger. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to support you more.”

“Hey.” Dick cupped the side of Tim’s face and felt his little brother lean into the touch. “We talked about this, okay? We both made mistakes. Now we need to move forward. All of us, Bruce included. We need to learn from what happened and communicate more, yeah?”

“Yeah, I know.” Tim nodded.

“I love you, Timmy.”

“Forever.” Tim mumbled, throwing his arms around Dick. Dick startled, just for a second, at the sudden weight, but then he gratefully held his brother tight.

“Thanks, Dick.” Tim pulled away, rubbing at suspiciously bright eyes. “I should…”

“Yeah.” Dick smiled fondly as Tim scurried away.

He wandered back into the main room and found Jason bent over the sink peeling vegetables. 

“Doing alright?” Jason asked when Dick didn’t say anything. 

“Yeah.” Dick sank onto the couch. “It’s just been a lot, you know?” Understatement, really. The past nearly three years had just been crisis after crisis, starting with Damian’s sudden arrival and going all the way to now. “Sometimes I can’t quite wrap my head around it all.”

Jason dried his hands on a towel and moved to join him. “Whatever you need Dick, you know we’re here, right? Tim, Damian, me. Alfred, Cass, Babs, Steph, we are all going to help you as long as you need it.”

“I know.” Dick said gratefully, pressing up against Jason’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Did you mean it?” Jason wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“Mean what?”

“That you forgive him.” Jason grimaced.

Dick sighed. “Yeah. But, like, its just forgiveness. He’s Bruce, he’s my dad, and holding that grudge would destroy me, okay? I’m not putting aside what he did or trying to justify it. But for my own sake I need to move on from this.”

“Okay.” Jason gave him a half smile. “I hope you aren’t expecting me to forgive him, though.”

“I’m shocked.” Dick replied dryly.

They sat in companionable silence for a moment. Dick took a deep breath, gathering his courage.

“I want to go out tonight.”

“Okay,” Jason said easily. “where?”

“No.” Dick turned to face him. “I want to go on patrol tonight.”

Jason searched his face for a long minute. “Okay.”

In the end, they all suited up. Robin, Red Robin, Red Hood, and Nightwing. Bludhaven wasn’t going to know what hit her. Tim and Damian took one route, while Jason accompanied Dick on Nightwing’s usual patrol.

Five minutes in, and Dick knew this was the piece that had been missing. He’d never been one to stay down for long. The sky was always calling. Dick needed to fly.

They ended up on the roof of the tallest building in Bludhaven, just staring out at the miserable, beautiful city Dick called home. Emotion surged within him. Relief to be back, the comfort of the suit he’d wondered if he’d ever wear again, grief at all he had gone through since the last time he had been here. Over it all, an overwhelming joy.

“You okay, Wing?” Jason asked quietly.

“Yeah.” Dick smiled through his tears. “I am.”

He leapt.

The wind whistled around him, the ground rushing up to meet him, his own cry of delight swallowed by the smog.

He waited until the last second, firing his grapple and swinging into the city, Red Hood moments behind.

He was home.


End file.
